Clash Royale has been so successful that even inspires many other games modelling its formula, and Castle Burn appears to be one of them. Before its official launch (which the date is undecided yet), we are lucky to be given a chance to try out the game beforehand so here is our Castle Burn review.

The graphics of the game is pleasant to look at, not the best quality but good enough for a game in portrait mode. Its overall user interface is well-designed, however (in my opinion) it should have been better if the “Battle” button is placed at somewhere middle instead of the very last corner of the whole display. Well, I kinda faced difficulties in finding that button.Talking about the gameplay, it is similar to Clash Royale but with its own twist – more emphasis on economy. You start a battle with only a main castle, then you will slowly build up your base and units with the aim of destroying opponent’s castle. Building camp increases capacity and expands territory, while building mana sanctum collects mana continuously.

Mana management should be your main focus, as you will be in big disadvantage if you are lacking mana to build up units (especially if you are under attack). Capacity (numbers of units you can have at a time) is also important to take care of, following by your cards selection.

You can add your card selection to your deck (maximum 6) as you play (requires mana too). Stronger/higher tier units unlock according to your castle tier, which it will upgrade automatically after you add 2 cards to the deck. Noted that once you make your selection it is unchangeable, so think before you add. You can also bring one of the 4 heroes into your battle, their unique skills will help you a lot in the battle (even leads you to victory).

The battle mode separates into casual and ranked match, winning a ranked match gives you a victory card pack (coins and cards inside). There are Quests to keep you busy too and you can get a card pack by completing any of it. Also, a free card pack will be available every few hours (4 if I not mistaken).

The interesting part of the game is that you will know what your opponent has in their hands (you can see their cards) but you can’t see the units coming until they step in your visible area (due to the territory vision). This makes the battle more intense because you just can’t prepare a counterattack. But at the last, the one who manages his/her resources and units better will always get the victory. You know what to do right?

Castle Burn is now in soft-launch stage for Android in the Philippines, while Australia and Thailand iOS users can experience the game very soon. No specific date of official launch yet, but since I had a blast playing it, I recommend you to try it out when it is available in your country too!